10 attributes of a successful printing & packaging solution provider (part 1)
September 25, 2019 | Daywey Chen
2019-09-25
Overall the years, we have worked with many printing & packaging solutions providers. We have objectively observed the goods and the bads of these solution providers. There is no one right recipe to success. Yet, there are common attributes among the successful ones. Check to see if your company have displayed the following attributes.
Are your top executives highly involved in your investment operation?
Are your top executives behind the table looking at the numbers or are they diving into the matter and have a certain level of control over the details? We often found that the more involvement of the top executives in the investment operation, the smoother the process. In a recent project, our client’s general manager gave the press investment ample attention. During the machine trials, their production manager and plant manager jumped in themselves. As result, the installation of the two machines was completed just under five weeks. Currently, these two machines are running smoothly in their daily operation bringing in the profits.
Are your staff well trained and highly capable?
People are always the key to success. Are your people knowledgeable in the operation and be able to make improvements? For successful companies, we often find their staff very specific and certain about what they want in machine design. The staff knows the production process inside out. The staff knows what tools they need to help them improve. Have you invested enough in your staff?
How far are you willing to go to get the deal done?
Some customers are harder to deal with than others. When you find a demanding customer, how far are you willing to go to get the deal done? Off course, we are not suggesting companies to satisfy all customers, because that is just not right. At KYMC we also have a core targeted market and a pool that we try not to get ourselves into. If the customer is within your targeted market, are you willing to sacrifice the short-term benefits for the long-term value? Or are you going to just sit there and complain about how difficult the customer is and let the opportunity pass? At KYMC we have a successful customer in North America that once told us that they had a picky customer that performed over 10 printing sample trials before the customer made an order. To this date, they never regretted the initial effort that they have put in as the value returned was much greater in the long term.
Are you flexible?
Nowadays, market demands are anything but stable. Is your firm able to cope with these uncertainties? Sometimes, flexibility has higher importance than price. We have seen customers won over the orders due to their capability to meet last-minute demand or meet last-minute adjustments. From what we have observed, to be flexible, the company needs to have an efficient system in place. A system to integrate what’s going on at the production floor. To integrate the materials, supplies, orders, staff, and all the resources that are related to sales and production.
Are you equipped with the right tools and equipment?
Having the right equipment does not guarantee success. However, with no doubt equipment is a critical variable in the success equation. Drawing upon an analogy, in which scenario are you more likely to win a fight? Using a knife to fight against a rifle? Or using a rifle to go against a rifle? Please don’t be mistaken that having the right tools does not equate to having the most expensive tools with the highest specification. Having the right tools mean to find the tools that are most suitable for your production environment and to your needs. That’s why at KYMC, customers’ requirement always comes first. At KYMC we design and build the machines to meet the customers’ requirement and not the other way around.
Do you have a strong equipment maintenance team?
A consistent trend that we observe across successful companies are having a very strong equipment maintenance team. Having the right tools and people are only part of the story. At the end of the day, are you able to provide a stable delivery? Think about it, the last thing brands want to deal with is a manufacturing hiccup when its marketing campaign is running at full speed. Maintaining your equipment and keeping them at the top of the game helps to identify potential issues before happening.
These are the 6 attributes that we have constantly observed at our successful customers. Hope you have met most of the attributes mentioned above or at least aiming to. Next time around, we will be sharing another 4 attributes that we have observed in a successful printing and packaging solution provider.
Article by Daywey Chen, KYMC
Article by Daywey Chen, KYMC
